Another Premier League footballer has used a court gagging order to prevent details of his personal life from being exposed by a national newspaper.

The married footballer obtained an injunction on Friday against News Group Newspapers, the division of News International that publishes the Sun and the News of the World.

The Premier League star is the latest celebrity to use human rights law to prevent details of an alleged affair from being written about in the press.

A string of footballers have latched on to using the legislation to protect their alleged off-field indiscretions.

It comes a month after another football star – who has since been named in foreign press – took out an injunction after he allegedly cheated on his wife in a six-month affair with former Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas.

At least 40 celebrities, including an increasing number of Premier League footballers, currently have legal protection in place.

Last week Max Mosley, the former Formula One boss, lost a legal challenge to force newspapers to warn people before publishing stories exposing their private lives, after a European court ruled such as system would have a "chilling effect" on the press.

The ruling opened a debate on the issue with Zac Goldsmith, a multimillionaire MP, called for parliament to "design proper privacy laws" so the media "don't invade people's privacy unless there's good reason".

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